Stocking Your Sick Day Cabinet
As if enough drawers have not been taken over by diabetes supplies, you'll need to dedicate another cabinet, shelf, or drawer to the things you need to treat your child on sick days. A sick day cabinet or drawer means you'll be able to find all you need in one spot at a time when you may be too worried to have to search your home for an item.
Diabetes Tools
You already have your strips and meters and ketone-checking supplies and insulin in one place, so you don't need to double it up here. But you do need to pack a small bag with a few of each item. That way, if you need to rush out the door in an emergency, it's all there without your having to think through what to pack and bring.
Your cabinet should also have some other tools you'll need, including an eight-ounce measuring cup. This cup can be filled with the sugary liquid you choose to have your child drink during the sickness. You won't need to guess how much your child has ingested; you can just look at the cup and do the math. You'll also want to keep on hand some juice boxes, crackers, and other foods your child does not mind when she is sick. Don't count on them being in your cabinet, since in life, we all run out of everything.
Essential
Make sure you let babysitters and all family members know where the sick day cabinet is and what it is for. If you are on the road and need to talk someone through something, it is better that they have a basic knowledge first to save time and stress.
You'll also want to tuck a list of your child's medical providers and their phone numbers in this cabinet, and a second one in your sick day bag. In a crisis, it's easy to forget a phone number even if you dial it all the time. How many times have you been asked a phone number only to think, “Gosh, I think it's speed-dial seven.” Having the phone numbers on hand will help in an emergency.
It's also a good idea to tuck a blank logbook into your cabinet and bag. Even if you don't usually write down numbers, a sick day is one time you simply must. Having a logbook on hand will make that easier, and help your medical team have better information to help your child.
Medications for Other Illnesses
Talk to your medical team about what cold and cough medicines they recommend and how to use them. Some medications contain fructose, but your medical team may still like them better. Purchase those items and put them in the sick day cabinet, apart from the rest of the family's needs. You don't want to run out of the only medication you can use on your child with diabetes.
Also tuck in some antibiotic cream, bandages, and other supplies for cuts and scrapes your child may get. Good care means no infections.
